“Positive Discrimination” Policies for Inclusion of Europe’s Largest Minority: Examples of Educational Policies for the Roma Minority in Europe

There are approximately ten million Roma in Europe, living in almost every country on the continent. Roma are also one of Europe’s most vulnerable minorities. Research has shown that in practically every aspect of life, Roma are worse off than the average citizen. Roma have higher rates of infant mortality, lower life expectancy, lower per-capita income, and higher unemployment, all major indicators of social exclusion. The disadvantaged situation of Roma communities has been widely recognized at both the international and national levels (Open Society Institute, 2007), and a remarkably wide range of initiatives has been developed to address and improve their situation. Positive change, however, has been slow to manifest itself. The Roma are a more traditional community that is trapped in a socalled “dependency trap,” whereby they become dependent on social transfers that push them even further into poverty and marginalisation. Some experts argue that the only way to break out of this trap is through education. According to the human capital theory, there is a positive correlation between individuals’ education and the welfare of the state. Bevc (1991) argues that investments in education will pay off in the form of welfare and more sustainable societies. In Europe, education is primarily a competency of national governments. In many countries, much of the actual regulation of education is delegated to local authorities. Yet, as with most other aspects of public policy, international conventions and instruments, and intergovernmental organizations like the European Union contribute to the larger framework to which states adhere. There are several mechanisms that would better include Roma into national educational systems throughout the EU; one of them is the Roma teaching assistant program. Although well-recognized and widely implemented, this mechanism lacks a thorough international evaluation that would help support arguments for the program to become a standard practice. The aim of this paper is to elaborate on the Roma teaching assistant program in Slovenia. This paper is the first to present empirical research on Roma teaching assistants and although results of the research imply that this mechanism lacks in substance and that there is much room for improvement, a thorough evaluation will help guide future models